Black Faces shining over international football

THE INTERNATIONAL media, among its reports on international football, speaks of “racism rearing its ugly head” in that field. While it is true that the racist fangs are being bared, it is not just a new phenomenon appearing, or “rearing its head” as we are led to believe. In every sport, as in all spheres of life, the racism which since the time of colonial conquest has been ingrained in global societies manifests itself in many ways.

The most open expression is the racist taunts and slurs from spectators at matches, both at the international as well as league levels. These sick believers in the illusion of white racist superiority find it difficult to stomach the rise and shining brilliance of black players at the highest level.

They are particularly abusive to those black players who stand up to them and are not afraid to challenge racist views.

English football has been enjoying a purple patch at both the international and league levels. Significantly, the rise to stardom of a crop of young black players is a major factor in this, leading the success charge for the England football team as well as for top English clubs in European league tournaments.

Players such as the Jamaican-born Raheem Sterling have backed their sterling performances on the field with outspoken

condemnation of racism, and he and his colleague, Danny Rose have risen above the racist filth to stand up for justice. Even younger players like the 18-year old Chelsea and England midfielder, Callum Hudson-Odoi have had to face the abuse and discrimination, rising above it to shine as much off the field as on it.

This new generation of black players, not just in England, is emphatically painting the face of international football in black, a fitting tribute to the early superstars such as the black Brazilian Pele and Eusebio who starred for Portugal but was actually an African from the then Portuguese colony of Mozambique.

Over the past two weeks many of these ‘black pearls’ were on display in qualifying matches for the 2020 European Nations Cup. England’s two successive wins had a lot to do with Sterling, Rose and Hudson-Odoi.

The latter, who wins England caps but is kept on the bench in Chelsea, is one of a crop of outstanding players of African descent currently ruling the roost in Europe.

Hudson-Odoi has Ghanaian roots on his father’s side. While he shone for England, another teenager, Moise Kean, became the youngest player for more than 50 years to score for Italy, against Finland. Two weeks ago, the young Kean became the first player born in the 21st century, to play in Italy’s Serie A and in the prestigious Champions League, appearing for perennial Italian champions, Juventus. His parents are from the Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire).

A host of other players of African origin also put their stamp on the European qualifiers. There was Paul Pogba of France, of Guinean parentage, and his team-mate Kylian Mbappe, whose mother is from Algeria. Germany’s Leroy Sane, scorer in the German win over the Netherlands, has a Senegalese father while the top Dutch defender, Virgil van Dijk, is the son of a Surinamese mother.

Add to all this the Caribbean factor, in the persons of Sterling and Kyle Walker (Jamaican father), Jadon Sancho (Trinidad), who is making waves in Europe, and Manchester United’s Jesse Lingaard, with Vincy roots, and it is clear that black footballers are striding on the international stage.

BIG UP, BROTHERS!